Before World War II, there were over 80 Japanese communities across America with at least 40 located in California. The development of these communities came to an abrupt halt on February 19, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 and had people of Japanese descent forcibly removed from their homes to be incarcerated in internment camps.

In response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the national order identified Japanese Americans as “enemy aliens”. It resulted in about 120,000 people detained, over two-thirds of whom were born and raised in the United States. More than 1,800 Japanese Americans died during their imprisonment.

In 2022, President Joe Biden declared February 19 the Day of Remembrance to commemorate the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and reflect on its consequences. Executive Order 9066 not only disrupted the lives of individuals and families but destroyed entire cultural enclaves. It’s estimated the Japanese lost an estimated $400 million during their incarceration.

Many survivors attempted to return home only to discover their belongings had been stolen and their properties vandalized or sold, effectively erasing their existence from their neighborhoods. From the 1950s onward, Japanese communities were further wiped out in urban renewal projects targeting new investors and commercial developments. 

Today, three officially recognized Japantowns in the United States are in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Below are their stories. By visiting these vital spaces and supporting their businesses, travelers can contribute to preserving Japanese culture and heritage.  

(Related: Restoring Hawaii's forgotten World War II internment sites.)

San Francisco’s Japantown is the largest and oldest of three remaining Japantowns in the United States.  Its history dates back to the 1800s when San Francisco served as the main port of entry for Asian immigrants to mainland America. Japanese set up enclaves in Chinatown and South of Market that thrived until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Undeterred, they relocated to the city’s Western Addition. By 1940, Japantown was home to more than 5,000 Japanese residents and 200 Japanese-owned businesses, making it one of the largest Japanese communities outside Japan.

“Japantown used to occupy 40 blocks and you could get anything done from getting your shoes shined to your suit made,” says Dr. Emily Murase, executive director of the Japantown Task Force (JTF), a San Francisco non-profit dedicated to preserving and developing the neighborhood. 

The bustling neighborhood all but vanished when its residents were incarcerated as a result of Executive Order 9066. The Japanese attempted to rebuild their community when they were released but faced an uphill battle. After World War II, urban renewal became a huge focus for America, and Japantown was one of the first areas targeted for a large-scale project known as the Western Addition Redevelopment project. Half of the neighborhood was torn down by 1960 and redevelopment continued through the 1980s. 

Murase says about six blocks of Japantown remain today. Although it has evolved into more of a shopping, dining, and entertainment district than a residential neighborhood, it stands as a testament to the Japanese American community’s strength. 

“Japantown was crushed not once, but twice,” she says, referencing both the earthquake and the war. “The fact that it still exists demonstrates the resilience of the community. This is our little village and we’re proud of it.” 

Murase recommends that visitors take the Japantown History Walk—a self-guided audio tour featuring historically and culturally significant landmarks—to better understand the neighborhood. One of the most important landmarks is the Peace Pagoda, a five-tiered stupa donated to San Francisco by the people of Osaka, Japan. For food, Udon Mugizo serves bowls of housemade traditional udon noodles and Hikari Sushi delivers conveyor belt-style sushi on miniature bullet trains. Those looking for unique gifts can stop at Asakichi, an antique specialty store known for its traditional iron teapots, and Paper Tree, a family-owned origami museum and shop that offers origami-folding classes. 

(Related: These little-known sites help families connect to Asian American history.)

In the late 1800s, Japanese foreign nationals began immigrating to the Santa Clara Valley because of its abundant farm work opportunities. They initially settled in San Jose's Chinatown but went on to establish their own community alongside the Chinese, and later, immigrants from the Philippines. 

After Executive Order 9066 was issued, all people of Japanese ancestry were told to report to the San Jose State College men’s gymnasium for registration without knowing they would be incarcerated for the next three years. 

Historian Curt Fukuda, author of San Jose Japantown: A Journey, says that many Japanese, including his parents, chose to settle in San Jose—after they were released—because of its large Asian population. 

“There was still anti-Japanese sentiment in the area, but there was enough tolerance that they felt safe,” he says. “After the war, the Japanese population doubled from what it was before.”

Today, although the upward mobility of the immigrants’ children and grandchildren has resulted in many Japanese Americans moving away from Japantown; it remains a strongly-rooted community that caters to residents rather than tourists.

“By comparison to San Francisco Japantown and Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, San Jose Japantown is very humble,” Fukuda says. “It’s a living community that serves its neighborhood.”

He recommends visitors take advantage of the city’s no-frills food scene, which is full of tiny restaurants serving down-home cooking. “Nobu’s fantastic, but you won’t find that in San Jose Japantown,” he says with a laugh. Check out Minato for its katsu curry and Gombe for Japanese-style fried chicken and oysters. Fukuda says the Shuei-do Manju Shop is “a must” for its manjū, a traditional Japanese confection.

To delve into Japantown’s history,  visit San Jose Betsuin, a Buddhist church founded in 1902 to bring together Japanese immigrants, and the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, which chronicles more than a century of Japanese American history and features a barracks room that's an accurate recreation of a family's living quarter at one of the internment camps.

(Related: Why does the U.S. have so many Chinatowns?)

Little Tokyo celebrated its 140th anniversary last year, but like the Japantowns in San Francisco and San Jose, it’s had to overcome plenty of adversity over the years. Most recently, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of America’s most endangered places. 

“We have a long history of fighting for our neighborhood,” says Kristin Fukushima, executive director of Little Tokyo Community Council (LTCC) in Los Angeles. 

It’s estimated that 37,000 Japanese Americans from Los Angeles County were incarcerated during World War II and that over a third of them chose to relocate elsewhere when they were released. Remaining residents and community activists united to preserve the neighborhood amid urban development, leading to Little Tokyo's revival in the 1970s and its designation as a National Historic District in 1986.

Today, Little Tokyo is home to more than 50 legacy businesses, which the LTCC defines as businesses that have been part of the neighborhood for at least 20 years. That includes Kouraku, the longest-running ramen shop in America, and Sushi Gen, a family-run sushi spot in a strip mall that's as popular with locals as tourists. Bunkado is a one-stop gift shop that offers a wide range of traditional items, including ceramics and paper lanterns.

The Japanese American National Museum is dedicated to educating the public on the Japanese American experience and includes an exhibit on the community’s incarceration during World War II. (It’s currently closed for renovation but will reopen in late 2026.) Other popular attractions in Little Tokyo include East West Players, the country’s first professional Asian American theatre organization, and Japangeles, a clothing boutique that specializes in Tokyo and Los Angeles-inspired streetwear. For street art, Miyako Hotel boasts a 150-foot-tall mural featuring Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese baseball star and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“When people visit us, they can also think of it as supporting a historic community and what so many generations have fought for,” Fukushima says. “We would not still be here if it weren’t for them.”

(Related: In L.A.’s Koreatown, travelers find a ‘second Seoul’.)